a growing trend: conservative states support gay parenting?

July 9, 2007

I caught an article in TIME over the weekend titled “Gay
Family Values.” The article points out that though the right
has successfully passed constitutional amendments banning gay
marriage in 11 states, passing adoption bans by LGBTQ parents is a
different story.

After winning constitutional amendments in 11 states to
ban gay marriage in 2004, conservatives put gay adoption in their
crosshairs last year–and misfired in every state they targeted.
Since then, they have continued to suffer legislative defeats in
states like Arkansas, which banned gay marriage in 2004 but earlier
this year saw a bill to prohibit gay adoption die in committee.
Only Florida denies gays and lesbians the right to adopt under any
circumstances.

It’s an interesting and bizarre paradox. Ban gay marriage but allow
gay adoption? What does this trend say about our movement and about
the mindset of mainstream America?

The TIME article speculates that gay adoption may be less about gay
rights and more about finding homes for children in need. It’s an
“ends justify the means” argument that is particularly dangerous
for our movement.

I don’t like the mentality of “well, 120,000 children need homes
and there’s nowhere else to put them so I guess having a gay parent
is better than nothing.”

It’s the motivation that matters to me. We should be motivated to
protect LGBTQ families with the same rights as everyone else
because it’s a matter of equality. Not just because
children need homes. Even if there wasn’t a crisis in our foster
care system – that even if every children had a home – we’d still
be fighting for equal treatment and protection under the law for
LGBTQ parented families.

I’d like to think that mainstream America is motivated by equality,
but this strange paradox says otherwise. What do you think?